A Picture Is Worth One Thousand Words
by Woahmyninja
Summary: Elliot turned over the first photo and without even seeing the woman's face; he recognized her as his wife, Kathy. She was naked, her face turned away from the camera, sitting astride an equally naked man. In a detached way, he noted her smooth, long, milky legs, consistent with her long arms and shoulder length golden hair.


It was just a dream….

As he careened through the open door he began to take in the sight of her trembling body, her naked arms, her body, covered in a fine misty sheen of perspiration.

He stopped halfway through the door, beginning to wonder if he should even take another step, but when he heard her sleepy cry for help all thoughts of leaving that room were thrown out.

As he walked toward the end of the bed it seemed like his body was moving in slow motion, although his heart had long since started hammering out of his chest.

He came to the side of the bed where he peered down upon her sleeping form until he gathered the courage to reach down and touch her arm.

He gently began to rock her body, with the hopes of extracting her from her fitful sleep without to much of a turmoil.

"Stop!" She screamed, yielding and twisting his arm.

He grabbed her wild arm and holds it still.

Her wide eyes darted around the room, taking in her surroundings.

Although her eyes were still flickeing about the crème colored walls, his eyes were probing for hers.

"Hey," he said, their eyes meeting briefly before she clamped them shut and took in a gulp of air. "Hey, it's okay. It was just a bad dream."

Her heart pounding, and breath held captive in her lungs, she still managed to choke out, " No….Tony, its not."

She slowly lowered herself back down to the sweat soaked sheets, blinking away tears.

As his eyes probed her pale face his hand tentatively outstretched to clasp hers.

Her hand tightened around his and she reached out to pat his shoulder, as if that would consolidate him.

"Leave me be…Tony I'm alright, really." And with that she turned her back to him and closed her fluttering eyes, Praying for sleep.

"Ziva…" Tony started, his tone soft, almost inaudible.

"Did you not hear me say, leave me be?" She hissed her voice much harsher than she would have wished.

Silence. And then, " Yes."

Her eyes narrowed, annoyed by his persistence. "Yes?" she asks craning her neck toward the spot to where he had been sitting only moments ago, expecting to still see him sitting there and staring at her with the same bothersome sympathetic stare he gives her every time something bad happens, but was surprised to find that he had already left that spot.

Although not willingly, she had to admit, that she was a bit disappointed that he had actually left, if nothing she had expected him to be standing in the doorway, with his weight shifted to one leg, giving her an all-knowing glare, but she saw nothing. No one.

She breathed in the musty air and attempted to fall into a partial slumber, only to be distracted from her doings by a dip in the other side of the bed.

"Tony?" She asked, her voice still a raspy whisper, product of aggravated vocal chords.

"Yea…I'm here."

She sighed, feeling comfort in his warm timber. "Good…"

After a couple of moments of silence she added, "I didn't mean it…I didn't want you to leave."

He turned head towards her voice, and with a flicker of a smile playing at his lips he whispered, "I know."

She swallowed thickly, knowing everything that she wanted to say but not knowing how to, so instead of speaking she just lied quietly, listening to the crackling of linens as he slipped beneath them.

After several minutes she had begun to think that he had fallen asleep, but was quickly startled to reality when his cold hand slipped across her abdomen.

"I have dreams about her sometimes….My mother…." he said, his hand tracing alternating circles between her stomach and hip bone. " most of them aren't peaceful, but on rare occasions I get the chance to feel like she is here with me again. Like she is in the kitchen, cooking my favorite meal, or sitting next to me as I burden her with my troubles…"

"You think about her a lot. Yes?'

He sighed deeply, and stilled his hand momentarily. "Yes."

She fought the trembling in her chin with all her might but in the end, sorrow won and drops of warm, salty tears trickle down her red, tear stained cheeks. "I just keep re-living that night Tony…I keep seeing his body…lifeless and limp backed up against that wall…"

He sat up on his side to wipe away the torrent of tears rampaging down her face.

"Will you please turn around?" He asked, rubbing her face lovingly as the tears continue to fall.

She squeezed her eyes shut, willing away the rebel tears, and folded herself into his open arms and sturdy, chiseled chest.

Her fingers crumpled the fabric of his shirt between her fingers as he shoulders began t hiccup with her effort of willing away bothersome tears.

"What have we done to deserve all this?"

Not sure to whom she was speaking, Tony just closed his eyes and rubbed the small of her back in slow soothing circles as she expelled all of her emotion in the form of sporadic sobbing.

It was several desolate, sob filled hours later when the tears shed had taken every ounce of viable energy from her frail body.

Tony lied through the night, watching her chest rise and fall with every one of her gentle breaths, as for the first time in days she slept through the night.

* * *

He body still humming from a good nights rest, she slowly began to regain all of her senses.

The apartment was eerily silent. The only sound that could be heard was the occasional snore of Shmiel as he slept comfortably outside the closed bedroom door.

At some point n the night, Ziva had wound up on top of Tony, in a position so precarious that she couldn't possibly see a easy way out of it. Her knee was lying dangerously close to Tony's manhood and his hand inches away from her butt.

She did not move, for the fear of rousing him so instead just lied still, watching the birds flutter by. It seemed like she had only been lying there for moments when Tony had spoken up. "Good morning." He said, his voice still groggy with sleep.

Startled, by the sudden presence of his voice she said, "You frightened me Tony."

Laughing at the obvious remark he said, "I heard," and if not to sound harsh, seconds later, "I'm sorry."

She laughed, but didn't say very much. On the upside, neither did he.

After pondering for several, uncomfortable minutes she finally said, "How long have you been awake."

Tony looked thoughtful for a moment and came up with, "A better question would be how long have I been asleep.'

Embarrassed, her cheeks flushed red. "I can not express how sorry I am Tony…I did not mean to wake you again….I just…"

"No, you didn't…" he said quickly, " I was just…I was worried about you."

" Oh, Thank you…" Ziva muttered, not knowing what else to say.

"And I was thinking about you." Tony told her, smoothing out the strands of her hair on the her head that stuck up.

"Tony, You have already said that."

"No, I said that I was worried about you" Tony said.

"I do not see the difference." Ziva said, sitting up on her elbows so that she could look into his deep inquisitive pools of green.

"The difference is that I was worried about you…as a friend, But I was thinking about you as…well…as an equal."

"An equal?" She asked cocking a brow.

"A lover…"

He could feel his heart drop to his stomach as he waited for what felt like an eternity for her response.

Dipping her head a fraction of an inch she whispered, " I have too fantasized about us…Together."

Finally allowing himself to exhale, he felt relief come rushing out of his lungs.

She reached to to brush her hand across his cheek, praying to god that this was not all just another dream.

Enveloped in the feeling of her warm body pressed against his and the feather light touch of her hand sliding across his face, his head lolled to the side.

If he had shifted his hand one fraction of an inch then he would be touching the sweet curve of Ziva David's ass that he had only dreamed of touching.

His insides were ablaze, burning with the heat of desire. He wanted her so badly.

She pushed her knee against the heat of his sex and, ripping the quietist moan from his throat that he could give in the lieu of the situation.

And that was all it took. Their mouths had began to move together in harmony, hands roaming freely of one another's body, Touching parts of each other only once fantasized about.

Ziva's hand had just found its way to Tony's thigh when he stopped her. "We can't …Shmiel is here." Tony said.

She huffed as sigh of annoyance and although her hands had slowed, they had not stopped all together. "We'll be quiet."

He shook his head. "No," he said with a breathless chuckle. "If we do this tonight, there is no way that I am being quiet."

Cheeks flushed red and core on fire she tumbled off of Tony's body. "Fine." She grumbled.

As turned her back to retreat to the bathroom Tony grabbed her by the forearm and looked deep into her chocolate orbs and said, "Don't think that I didn't want to."

"Okay." She huffed, clearly lying as she crossed her arms beneath her beast.

"We will do this, Ziva. Just not now."

She stood there silent for a moment before placing herself at the foot of the bed.

"Ziva," he said, "Know this, Ani ohev otach"

A/N: So, I was going to write more as for the smut scene but that will have to be in a later chapter if you want it. I admit I typed this up really quickly in anticipation of getting it posted. But I also have no beta anymore so that is why you will see s many typing errors and grammar errors. The translation for the Hebrew word was "I love you."


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